The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 9, 1994 - 13 WOMEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK: Blue kickers surpass expectations By NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA Daily Sports Writer Michigan teams are referred to as the "Champions of the West," or so the fight song goes. The first-year varsity Wolverine women's soccer team knew that if it was to live up to that demanding label in the future, it would have to start a strong winning tradition in its first campaign. A winning season was the Wolverines' main goal for its inaugural season, and that goal was achieved. Michigan (1-6 Big Ten, 11-7-1 overall) surpassed its own expectations and was close to finishing with an even stronger record. The Wolverines dropped one-goal games to Minnesota and first-place Penn State, with the loss to the Golden Gophers resulting from a last-minute score. Michigan remained competitive in every game by not allowing more than three goals in a match. "(Michigan coach Debbie Belkin's) goals were to have us finish above .500 and to have us improve from the first game to the last," sophomore Kim Phillips said. "We achieved those goals. We ended up better than .500, and I think that anyone who came to see us play will definitely see the improvements we made in our team." RIGHT ATTITUDE: Sophomore Whitney Ricketts, a transfer from Temple, sees the Michigan soccer program as heading in the right direction. She highlighted the Wolverine's team unity, positive attitude and strong sup- port as the foundation for both Michigan's present and possible future success. "At Temple, there wasn't any of the excitement that there is here," Ricketts said. "It's different here. The program is behind you 100 percent, our coach is behind us 100 percent and even when things don't go well they stand behind you. "And the team members play foreach other. At Temple every one was worried about their stats or their personal honors. Here, it's like, 'I want to set her up for a pass so she can get a goal and be all-conference or whatever.' We play for each other and the whole team is unselfish. That will help us in the future." FRESHMAN HONORS: Freshman midfielder Debbie Flaherty was the sole Wolverine to be named to the All- Big Ten women's soccer team. She was selected for the second squad, but her teammates were surprised she didn't make first team all-conference. "She's only a freshman and she's a great player," Phillips said. "I'm really happy for her, but she probably should have made the first team. They go by points when they select, and they don't really tell how important she was to this team." Ricketts agreed that Flaherty was well-deserving 'of the honor, but she also felt that others may have been deserving as well. "She's a great player, andI have no doubt that she will be a first-team next year along with some other players," Rickets said. "This team had a lot of players who were probably good enough to make that team." Flaherty controlled the midfield for Michigan this season, racking up four goals and seven assists for 15 points. Phillips led the Wolverines in scoring with eight goals and one assist for 17 points. Ruth Poulin followed with 15 points and Betsy Axley tallied 13. Michigan goalkeeper Jory Welchans posted a 9-7 record but kept her goals against average down to 1.19. MARKIED -H MAN/Daily The Michigan women's soccer team finished its inaugural season with a record of 11-7-1 (1-6 Big Ten). The Wolverines' season concluded with a postseason conference tournament loss to Wisconsin. 'M' frustrated with performances By MARC LIGHTDALE For the Daily When the Michigan men's tennis team ventured to Madison last week- end, it wanted to capitalize on the momentum gained from its last out- ing. However, the results of this weekend's Rolex Invitational Tour- 4 ament did not satisfy the high expec- ations the Wolverines carried with them after the Georgia Tech Invita- tional. While Michigan did not play poorly, the squad failed to distinguish itself in the high-powered affair, fea- turing the likes of Notre Dame and last year's Big Ten champion, Min- nesota. The Wolverines encountered a Ihallenge, playing on the unusually slick surface at Nielsen Tennis Sta- dium. "The conditions did not allow any one team to gain a foothold," Michi- gan coach Brian Eisner said. "We lost some singles matches that we would not ordinarily lose." "Playing on fast courts evens up the matches. Points tend to be very ihort favoring the big serve and olleyers," Michigan assistant coach Dan Goldberg added. Michigan players did not domi- nate the tournament, but there were some outstanding individual perfor- mances. After winning the Flight B Singles Draw at the Georgia Tech Invitational, freshman David Paradzik bowed out in the fourth- *ound to Jayson Bedford of Michi- gan State, 3-6,1-6. In the third round, Paradzik outlasted Denny English of Ball State in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Paradzik expressed frustration over the team's results. "There were a lot of tough matches that turned the other way," he said. "We definitely have to work harder. *We're a step away from dominating or making that breakaway from the competition." Junior John Costanzo chipped in a solid effort with two victories that landed him in the third round. Costanzo beat Eric Seltenreich of Miami (Ohio) and Ball State's Tony Ortiz in straight sets, before losing to Cincinnati's Tom Svoboda, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7. Although Costanzo had some suc- cess, he was disappointed with the outcome. "We lost all the close matches," Costanzo said. "We had to take ad- vantage of break points and we did not do it. One of the more impressive per- formances came unexpectedly from the doubles draw. The tandem of Jeff Prentice and Arvid Swan battled victoriously through four matches before losing in the finals to the No. I seed. In the semifinals, the pair defeated the sec- ond-seeded squad from Notre Dame, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. "It was a tight match," Swan said. "We were able to serve it out at the end." The tournament proved to be un- usual in that none of the big favorites, including the Golden Gophers, Fight- ing Irish and Wolverines dominated the field. "From this tournament, I realized that anyone could beat anyone," Costanzo said. "Four of the top-eight seeded singles players were knocked out. I've never seen anything like it in a Rolex Tournament." The tournament did provide some positive feedback. "In the past, we have struggled in doubles," Goldberg said. "Our doubles is much improved." Although Eisner noted that play- ers lost key points which would have won more matches, he noted that the team gained some valuable experi- ence. "Even though I am not pleased with the results of the tournament, I am pleased with where we are," he said. U U I Newsletters Newsletters Newsletters Newsletters Big savings on newsletters for all clubs, businesses, and organizations. Ever thought about a career in publishing? Develop skills opportunities in book and magazine insiders at Rolling Stone, ' ~Texas Monthly," The New Yorker, Simon & Schuster, wm,, ~ Random House . s "and others. E For afree brochure contact: School of 7Continuing Studies RieUniversity 6100 Main Street _ -MS 550 Houston, Texas 77005-1892 A. Phone: (713) 5274803 Fax: (713) 285-5213 E-mail: scs@rice.edu z 3 Y The Rice University Publishing Program July 16-August 11, 1995 W "il"iam arsh R ' ' irs"tyis an O"I"tA institu^t n 7777'77 R 4. M- ::*7v4 14:R - --S"-#'-{- 4'1*R-.I :js:. 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